The Baltic Sea Region constitutes a dynamic and competitive region which is politically and economically integrated and represented in a number of regional organisations and initiatives such as the Baltic Sea Region Energy Co-operation.

In 2009, the study ‘Energy perspectives for the Baltic Sea region – Setting an agenda for the future’, conducted by Nordic Council of Ministers, Baltic Development Forum and Ea Energy Analyses, in dialogue with among others BASREC and UBC, showed through small-tech and big-tech scenario analyses that stakeholder and country cooperation  will reduce the cost of CO2 reduction and that energy co-operation can indeed leave each country better off when implementing targets on climate protection, as well as in ensuring greater security of energy supply.

The study also concluded that energy planning with neighbouring countries is essential for meeting political concerns with regard to safe and secure energy supply and for establishing effective energy markets. The role of the Baltic Sea Region – as a political level for cooperation – has a huge and unexploited potential.

One of the recommendations deriving from the associated stakeholder discussion on how to develop the Baltic Sea Region as a frontrunner on energy and climate issues was to “establish a common regional training programme to strengthen the capacities in energy planning. Such a programme should aim at developing the exchange of experiences and best practices among officials at local and national levels.”

As a consequence the Baltic Sea Region Energy Co-operation and the Nordic Council of Ministers decided in 2010 to launch the Baltic Rotating Energy Planning Academy – BALREPA. The first training session took place 23-26 May 2011 in Kaliningrad, Russian and the second academy 8-11 November 2011 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The third BALREPA will take place in October in Riga, Latvia.